SEAT BELTS

 

Seat belts in the late 1960's and 1970's tended to have gangly, unsatisfactory designs that were difficult to adjust, got tangled in the seats, and slammed in the doors. SM's were no exception to these issues. 

 

Seat belt requirements were driven by Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) #209, "Seat Belt Assemblies."

 

Most Euro SM’s had non-retractable, manually-adjusted 3-point seat belts. 

 

USA/Canadian seat belts were as follows:

 

• 1971 and 1972 USA/Canadian SM’s manufactured in calendar year 1971 had three-point non-retractable, manually-adjusted seat belts (front and rear). We have seen two manufacturers; the most common one was a British company called Britax who also provided similar seat belts for USA DS's, and a second manufacturer was a Finnish company called Klippan. 

 

• 1972 USA/Canadian SM’s manufactured in calendar year 1972, and all 1973 USA/Canadian SM’s had inertia reel seat belts. The front inertia reels had a wire that was used for the seat belt warning light logic. Rear seat belts were inertia reels with no warning light. The front inertia reel belts had clip-in shoulder harness straps that could be used (or not). 

 

The inertia reel seat belts used on USA/Canadian cars do not show up in the parts books. We have been told that the cars had provisions for the inertia reels built into them in the factory, but the inertia reel seat belts themselves were installed once the cars were in North America (i.e. Port Installed). We have been unable to confirm this but it is plausible, especially since the same seat belts were used in some American Ford cars of the era (the inertia reels are referred to in Ford circles as "starburst" belts due to the pattern on the buckle).